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28 Apr 2006

A second member of the original Broadway cast of Monty Python’s Spamalot has been announced for the London company of the Tony-winning musical.

Reprising his role of Sir Dennis Galahad, Christopher Sieber will join Tim Curry’s King Arthur when the show starts previewing at the West End’s Palace theatre on Oct. 2. Spamalot officially opens Oct. 17, with a press performance Oct. 16.

In Jan. 2007 Curry will hand over to Simon Russell Beal who recently played King Arthur at Broadway's Shubert Theatre, after taking over from Curry last December.

The cast of the London veriosn also includes Hannah Waddingham (Lautrec, The Beautiful Game, Tonight’s the Night) in the role of The Lady of the Lake, David Birrell (Grand Hotel, Chicago) as Patsy, Tom Goodman-Hill (The Cosmonaut’s Last Message) as Sir Lancelot and Robert Hands (Chicago, Mamma Mia), who takes on the part of Sir Robin.

Eric Idle based the musical’s book on the 1975 film “Monty Python and the Holy Grail,” the screenplay for which Idle wrote with fellow Pythons Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Terry Jones and Michael Palin.

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Directed by Mike Nichols (Tony-winning productions of Barefoot in the Park, Luv, The Odd Couple, Plaza Suite, The Prisoner of Second Avenue and The Real Thing), Spamalot won the Tony Award for Best Musical of 2005 plus the Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle awards in the same category.

Telling the legendary tale of King Arthur and his Knights' quest for the Holy Grail, Spamalot features a chorus line of dancing divas (and serfs), flatulent Frenchmen, killer rabbits and a legless knight.

The show includes new music and lyrics by Idle and John du Prez, who wrote the original film score from which the musical has “lovingly ripped off” three songs. The creative team also includes Casey Nicholaw (choreography) and Tim Hatley, who provides set and costume designs. Idle and du Prez, who have scored over 20 movies, are longstanding collaborators.